Magnetar is a neutron star that has an extremely powerful magnetic field. They have a magnetic field around 100 to 1000 times stronger than an average neutron star, and about one thousand trillion times stronger than the Earth's magnetic field.

Magnetars are just more violent forms of pulsars. Their active life is relatively short because their magnetic field decay after about 10,000 years or so.

With pun intention, magnetars are sometimes also called 'pulsars on steroids'. Loosely, Magnetar word is the contraction of MAGNEtic stAR.

See also

• Pulsar
• Neutron Star